\n<\/b><\/p>\n
![\"Southern](\"http:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/USC-200-MR-WNCAA-SD-0571.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Washington State (10\/9), 150-106
\nW at Oregon State (10\/18), 153-107
\nSMU Classic (10\/17-18), 4th place<\/p>\n
Next competition:<\/i> Friday and Saturday at USC Invite<\/p>\n
The Trojans were busy in October, taking down conference foe Washington State then splitting up for the SMU Classic and the Oregon State dual. Despite a fourth-place finish in Dallas, USC gets the top spot to kick off the dual meet season thanks to the efforts of national champion Kendyl Stewart and stalwarts Chelsea Chenault and Jasmine Tosky.<\/p>\n
2. Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Oct. 31 at Florida<\/p>\n The Lady Bulldogs find themselves in familiar territory at this point in the season. In the first poll of the 2013-2014 season, Georgia was ranked second after four dual meet wins in decisive fashion. Athletes such as Amber McDermott, Brittany MacLean and Kylie\u00a0Stewart have helped showcase Georgia\u2019s overall strengths.<\/p>\n 3. Florida (3-0, 3-0 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Peter H.Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Oct. 31 vs. Georgia<\/p>\n Losing Elizabeth Beisel to graduation doesn\u2019t seem to have affected the Gators in the early goings of this season. Led by Natalie Hinds, Florida is showing impressive speed in October.<\/p>\n 4. California (0-0, 0-0 Pac 12) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Thursday vs. Oregon State<\/p>\n California\u2019s team, led by a recovering Missy Franklin, visited Florida and showed their dominance in the backstroke events, as well as a strong IM squad with Celina Li and others doing well.<\/p>\n 5. North Carolina (1-1, 0-0 ACC) Photo Courtesy: David Farr<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Saturday vs. Virginia Tech<\/p>\n North Carolina\u2019s middle distance and distance freestylers put Tennessee to the test a couple of weeks ago, then challenged Georgia\u2019s depth the following week with some close races. The Tar Heels have an impressive diving squad that helped greatly with the points, even sweeping some of the diving events in the first two meets.<\/p>\n 6. Minnesota (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) Photo Courtesy: Peter H.Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Friday vs. North Dakota<\/p>\n Whether at home or on the road, Minnesota is not afraid to race. The reigning Big Ten champions started their season with a showcase of their depth across all events, taking down conference rival Wisconsin quite handily, with able assists from a top-notch diving team.<\/p>\n 7. Texas A&M (1-0, 1-0 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Saturday vs. Wisconsin<\/p>\n Texas A&M\u2019s women\u2019s team did not lose a dual meet last season, aided by the unstoppable Breeja Larson. With the multiple NCAA champion now graduated, the Aggies will face a tougher road this season but have started strong against powerful Arkansas. The seniors are leading the charge so far, but the depth is being handled in the lower placing by the underclassmen at the season\u2019s beginnings.<\/p>\n 8. Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Anthony Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Nov. 1 vs. LSU at Alabama<\/p>\n Auburn\u2019s devotion to sprint relays and the sprint freestyles helped the women\u2019s team beat a strong Indiana team, with a couple sweeps of the top three places helping secure the victory over Indiana. The same held true in the tri-meet against Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, two teams that could not match Auburn\u2019s freestyle depth.<\/p>\n 9. Louisville (2-0, 0-0 ACC) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Friday vs. Indiana and Texas at Michigan<\/p>\n Tanja Kylliainen and Kelsi Worrell were the MVPs at the SMU Classic, putting up some nation-leading times to help the Cardinals notch the second-place finish.<\/p>\n 10. Arizona (2-0, 1-0 Pac 12) Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Nov. 1 vs. Utah at UNLV<\/p>\n Bonnie Brandon, the Wildcats\u2019 utility player, was a big part of the win against Wisconsin, with Emma Schoettmer and Tjasa Oder also contributing well.<\/p>\n 11. Southern Methodist (0-0, 0-0 American) Photo Courtesy: Azaria Basile<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Oct. 31 vs. Rice<\/p>\n Though not yet racing in a dual-meet format, the Mustangs are showing some promise at the start of the season. A third-place finish as host of the SMU Classic showed some strength in a wide variety of events, though the swims by Rachel Nicol and Tara-Lynn Nicholas in the breaststrokes were the highlights of the meet. Nicol\u2019s 1:00.18 in the 100 breast is the fastest in the collegiate rankings.<\/p>\n 12. Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Oct. 31 vs. Indiana and Kentucky<\/p>\n The score in the dual meet against UNC-Wilmington made it seem closer than it was, with the Volunteers getting the season started with two wins before falling victim to a powerful North Carolina team.<\/p>\n 13. Stanford (1-0, 1-0 Pac 12) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Friday vs. Oregon State<\/p>\n The Cardinal are starting the season slowly, picking off Utah in a dual meet with many of the key players not showing much at this phase of the season.<\/p>\n 14. Penn State (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) Photo Courtesy: Mark Selders<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Oct. 31 vs. Villanova<\/p>\n Taking down four schools in one meet is always a challenge, but it looked like it was no problem for the Nittany Lions, who also managed to defeat a talented Virginia Tech team to start the season.<\/p>\n 15. Louisiana State (1-1, 0-1 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Kyle Zedaker, LSU Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n LSU\u2019s surprise win at the SMU Classic was a big part of getting the Tigers into the top 15. Kara Kopsco was a standout at all three meets for LSU and will be a big factor in keeping LSU\u2019s spot in the coaches\u2019 poll.<\/p>\n 16. Wisconsin (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> November 7 at California<\/p>\n As he did in the previous season, head coach Whitney Hite is taking his team on the road often this season, facing some very tough competition. The lack of depth in many events, including freestyles, shows in the losses but Ivy Martin\u2019s leadership keeps Wisconsin in the conversation.<\/p>\n 17. Michigan (2-0, 2-0 Big Ten) Photo Courtesy: Daryl Marshke<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Friday vs. Texas, Indiana, Louisville<\/p>\n Clara Smiddy had a strong debut for the Wolverines, notching two wins in the tri-meet against Iowa and Nebraska to give Michigan a strong weapon in the backstroke events.<\/p>\n 18. UCLA (1-0, 1-0 Pac 12) Photo Courtesy: UCLA Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Saturday vs. Brigham Young at UC-Santa Barbara<\/p>\n Winning 11 of 14 events, UCLA continued to show off the dual-meet depth they are known to bring to every competition against Washington state. Katy Campbell, the USA Swimming national champion in the 1500, swam off events in her first meet of the season but will be a big point scorer in distance freestyle when needed.<\/p>\n 19. N.C. State (0-1, 0-0 ACC) Photo Courtesy: NC State<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Saturday vs. Florida State at Georgia Tech<\/p>\n Though feeling the stress of not having their top nine swimmers and divers at the dual meet against Georgia, the NC State women fought just as hard as their male counterparts to keep Georgia on their toes throughout the meet.<\/p>\n 20. Indiana (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n Next competition:<\/i> Friday vs. Louisville and Texas at Michigan<\/p>\n Indiana\u2019s strength in the non-freestyle events and in diving couldn\u2019t get them the win over Auburn, as the Tigers\u2019 freestyle strength was too much to handle. Brooklynn Snodgrass\u2019 stellar 1:53.97 in the 200 backstroke leads the nation to give Indiana a big positive note on which to start the dual meet season.<\/p>\n 21. Alabama (1-1, 0-1 SEC) Photo Courtesy: Amelia J. Brackin<\/p><\/div>\n Starting the season in mid-September helped showcase some of Alabama\u2019s talents early, and a loss to Georgia still brought forth some fast swimming from the Crimson Tide. A disqualification in the 200 medley relay \u2013 the first event \u2013 likely had an effect on the team\u2019s performance in the rest of the meet.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Vanderbilt (9\/24), 153-94
\nW vs. Alabama (10\/10), 164-130
\nW at North Carolina (10\/17), 164-136
\nW at NC State (10\/18), 183.5-114.5<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Arkansas (9\/27), 189.5-110.5
\nPinch-A-Penny Invitational (10\/3-5), first place
\nW vs. LSU (10\/10), 166-134
\nW at Kentucky (10\/16), 161-137<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nPinch-A-Penny Invitational (10\/3-5), second place<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Tennessee (10\/10), 204-96
\nL vs. Georgia (10\/17), 164-136<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Arizona State (10\/4), 191-101
\nW vs. Wisconsin (10\/17), 203-95<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Arkansas (10\/18), 170-120<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Indiana (10\/10), 129-113
\nW vs. Notre Dame (10\/18), 192-102
\nW vs. Vanderbilt (10\/18), 201-75<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Xavier (10\/10), 204-56
\nSMU Classic (10\/17-18), second place<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Wisconsin (10\/4), 180-101
\nW at Washington State (10\/17), 172-89<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nUNT Relays (9\/26), third place
\nSMU Classic (10\/17-18), third place<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at UNC-Wilmington (9\/26), 166-120
\nW at Queens (10\/9), 157-45
\nL at North Carolina (10\/10), 204-96<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Utah (9\/26), 174-124<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Georgia Tech (10\/3), 170-119
\nW at Virginia Tech (10\/18), 197-156
\nW vs. Old Dominion (at Virginia Tech) (10\/18), 285-68
\nW vs. Liberty (at Virginia Tech) (10\/18), 270-74
\nW vs. James Madison (at Virginia Tech) (10\/18), 274-79<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Tulane (10\/3), 220-80
\nL at Florida (10\/10), 166-134
\nSMU Classic (10\/17-18), sixth place<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Arizona State (10\/3), 142-94
\nL at Arizona (10\/4), 196-104
\nL at Minnesota (10\/10), 203-95<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW at Iowa (10\/4), 188.5-105.5
\nW vs. Nebraska (at Iowa) (10\/4), 182-112<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Washington State (10\/10), 143-104<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nAll-North Carolina Invite (10\/3-4), first place
\nSMU Classic (10\/17-18), fifth place
\nL vs. Georgia (10\/18), 183.5-114.5<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nL vs. Auburn (10\/10), 126-113<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nResults<\/b>
\nW vs. Delta State (9\/12), 216-79
\nL at Georgia (10\/10), 164-130<\/p>\n